A Simple Twist of Fate
by Copy-Nin's Daughter
Summary: Pepper receives distressing news, Tony doesn't believe in magic, Sarah is a cousin who is also a witch, and Fred just had his whole world turned upside down. Set before Iron Man 3 and after The Deathly Hallows. Prologue up, more to follow soon!
1. Chapter 1

Pepper Potts didn't consider herself a very emotional person. She prided herself on keeping her cool, especially since she had to deal with Tony Stark and all that entailed. Which was usually a lot of stress, sometimes heartbreak, fearing for her life, and a LOT of annoyance.

But she wasn't CEO of Stark Industries because of her emotional control. She was smart-not nearly as intelligent as said Tony-but she could hold her own, and because of her long standing relationship with Tony, he had entrusted his company to her.

She was honored.

And then the aliens invaded, and her nicely organized, professional world, came crashing down around her ears. It got worse when Tony started having the nightmares.

It was after one particularly stressful night with Tony tossing and turning, that Pepper gave in, and finally left the bedroom. She wasn't in the mood to deal with any of this shit tonight.

It was, she thought afterward, probably best that she was the one to find the owl. She wasn't sure how it had gotten past Jarvis's security measures, but was glad that Tony wasn't there to try and figure out how the animal had ended up in Malibu.

It was with shaking fingers that she took the proffered letter from the owl, and broke open the seal that showed that it wasn't from MACUSA, the United States Wizarding government, but from the Ministry of Magic, the British Wizarding government. That right there was enough to have her sinking to the floor, unable to hold herself up any longer on unsteady legs.

Dead Miss Pepper Potts,

It is with our deepest condolences that we inform you that your son, George Fabian Weasley, has fallen in the line of duty during a battle which took place on the grounds of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was a final confrontation with the former Dark Lord, He Who Must Not Be Named. This Dark Lord was defeated, but not at great personal cost for the side fighting for the light.

Mr. Weasley will have a funeral held for him on Hogwarts grounds in a week's time. Please respond to this owl, as he will relay your message to the American Wizarding Government and send it to us in quick succession. If you would like to attend your son's funeral, Mr. Arthur Weasley has asked for you specifically.

You do have one surviving son, Fredrick Gideon Weasley, and it has been requested that you meet him.

We understand if you would rather not have anything to do with the proceedings.

Sincerely,

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Nominee for Minister of Magic

The tears were now flowing freely, and all Pepper could do, was curl up into a ball up against the couch, clutching the letter to her chest, sobbing for a child she had never known.

 **Pepper was slowly walking down the hallway, supported by her cousin, neither of them speaking about the issue that was quite the elephant in the room. Pepper was numb at the moment, and didn't WANT to think about the decision she had to make.**

 **How was a sixteen year old girl supposed to decided something like this?**

 **I was then that she spotted the couple at the end of the hall. Both of them, surprisingly, had red hair to rival her own. But that wasn't what caught her attention. The woman was sobbing hysterically into her husbands shoulder, and the husband didn't have a dry face either.**

 **Looking through the window into the nursery, Pepper spotted the nurses slowly pulling a blanket up over a still body. Her breath hitched. Looking at the baby, she was very aware of the way it was too underdeveloped. Premature.**

 **Like her little boys.**

 **Grabbing her cousin's arm, Pepper halted. "Sarah," she hissed.**

 **Sarah stared at her, surprised at Pepper's sudden speech.**

 **"I want to talk to them."**

 **Pepper nodded at the mourning couple. Sarah turned wide eyes to her cousin. "You're not thinking what I think you are, are you?"**

 **Pepper smiled grimly at the sound of her cousin's cockney accent.**

 **Truly, this decision wasn't one she thought any sixteen year old should have to make. But she knew it had to be done. Given that she didn't have a magical bone in her body, unlike her cousin's family, and the father of her children, (she quickly pushed thoughts of him away) and her children had already exhibited signs of magic though the two boys were yet only half a day old, she wasn't the best person to raise them. Especially with the way her parents would react if they had any inclination towards what had transpired lately.**

 **"Yes, Sarah," Pepper stated. "Yes I am."**

Author's Note

I feel like this is a little unrefined, but I wanted to get the intro down and see what folks thought about the idea. I will probably go back through and edit and maybe add a few things later. But literally half an hour ago, this thought popped into my head. I just finished a "Tony is really Harry's father" story, and after looking at a few pictures of the twins, I had a "what if" idea. Also, I kinda like Fred better, and I think he's a much more angsty character than George, so this was my reason for the death switch. Among other things.

I have to head to work, but please leave a review and let me know what you think! I already have most of the next chapter written out in my head, and reviews with ideas would be appreciated. ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Or was with a sharp crash that the porch door was swung open and slammed up against the side of the house. The reason for the slammed door, was one Fredrick Gideon Weasley. Twin brother to George Fabian Weasley.

 _No more,_ his mind whispered.

Gritting his teeth to the point that his jaw ached, Fred clenched his fists and found he had walked over to his father's shed.

 _Ha, father,_ he scoffed inwardly.

He felt a familiar burning sensation behind his eyes, and blinked furiously against the onslaught of tears he knew was coming. He'd cried too much in the last week, and didn't want to start again.

No, his anger was enough right now.

Crying out in frustration, anger, and betrayal, Fred slammed his foot up against the side of the shed, actually cracking the wood to the left of the door.

It felt good. But only for a moment.

When he'd woken from his very few hours of sleep that morning, he'd not been prepared for the news his parents had presented him with. He'd been prepared to talk about attending Tonk's and Remus's funerals. To hedge on maybe discussing George's.

George.

He groaned, feeling as though his very heart, or what was left of it, had been ripped out of his chest.

This time, he didn't fight the tears.

 _Damn it._

Sinking to the grass, his back to the side of the shed, Fred let the tears fall once again. He was done with sobbing-he'd done that enough the morning after the battle. The two days later as he walked through the joke shop's ruins. Yesterday, when they'd received the body to prepare for the funeral.

The body.

Not George.

Because George wasn't there anymore.

And now, now his parents, wanted him to believe that they weren't his parents. That he and George had been adopted.

 _"Son, you have to realize that we wanted to tell you. So many times. But we drifted away from contact with your birth mother, and then everything with the war-there was just never a good opportunity."_

His father-no, Arthur, had been the one doing all the talking. Molly had just sat at the table, her face in her hands. He didn't know if she'd been crying or not.

 _"What happened to George," the name came out choked, "made us realize that we should never have kept it from you. We wanted you both to know. We wanted you to see her someday. Together."_

This was where Arthur had broken down and started tearing up.

 _"Is that why you always treated us differently? No! Don't say anything. Bill couldn't do any wrong. Charlie was so good at Quidditch, and then got a respectable, dangerous job with dragons. Do gooder Percy was head boy and got into politics, the great git. And you welcomed him back with open arms! And Ron-don't even have me mention the freaking Golden Trio! You were always on our case. You hated the joke shop. And you kept something like this from us! How could you? George died not knowing! He'll never know! And it's your fault!_

 _Fred spun around once, running his hands through his hair._

 _"Fred, it wasn't like that. We loved you as though you were our own. You ARE our own. We raised you, cared for you. You were both, and you still are, ours."_

 _Fred breathed heavily a few times through his nose, and then turned to glare at the pair._

 _He couldn't think of them as his parents. Not anymore._

 _"Well maybe I don't want to be yours anymore."_

 _"Fred!" He heard Molly cry, finally speaking. But he ignored her, and ran out the back door._

"Oh Georgie," Fred cried, burying his face in his arms. "Why did you leave me?"

When Tony walked into the kitchen, he wasn't surprised to see that Pepper was already awake. What was surprising though, was her disheveled appearance.

Pepper wash never...disheveled...

Walking around the bar so that he could face her as she sat on a stool, he tilted her chin up, so he could see her past the tangled hair. He felt a pang, as he realized her eyes were red from crying.

"Hey, Pep. What's wrong? Did something happen? C'mon babe, talk to me?"

Tony wasn't very good with emotions. Anyone could tell you that. Pepper better than others. But he had never, in his entire relationship business or otherwise with Pepper, seen her like this.

She slowly looked up at him. It was then that he noticed she was holding a crumpled piece of paper. Or, a better word would be parchment, as it looked darker and more sturdy than a typical piece of paper.

Strange.

"Pepper?"

Pepper finally let out a shuddering sigh.

"Um, I need, that is-" she turned and looked towards the window. Tony followed her gaze, but saw nothing.

"You're scaring me honey. What's wrong?"

Pepper took a deep breath. "I-I need to get cleaned up. Let me clean up, and take a shower. And then, there's something I need to tell you. I just-" she waved the piece of paper about for a moment, and then seemed to realize what she was doing.

"Yeah, I'll shower. Then I'll talk. Ok?"

Tony studied her for a moment, still unsure of how to handle the situation. Typically though, agreeing with the girlfriend worked wonders.

"Yeah, sure, if your sure," he said, nodding. Pepper nodded in return, and slid off the bar stool. She started walking towards the stairs, but Tony stopped her.

"Wha-?"

Tony pulled her into a hug, and she slowly returned it. He heard her sniffle once, and then she pulled away.

"Thank you," she said, and continued on her way.

Once she was upstairs and he heard the click of the bathroom door, he turned to the counter. The was a envelope laying there, torn open at the top.

Huh. He was pretty sure the mail didn't come before 9:00 in the morning, and it was approximately 7:30. Glancing once towards the stairs, he picked the letter up, and frowned at the old fashioned wax seal on the back. The envelope, like the parchment that Pepper had been holding, was a thicker material, slightly darker than a typical piece of paper. He flipped the envelope over, and raised his eyebrows at the address.

Miss Pepper Potts

House on Property #3 Shared With Tony Stark

10880 Malibu Point, Malibu, CA 90265

United States of America

Okay. So it wasn't creepy at all that someone wrote to Pepper at "property #3." Because technically, this was the third house he had bought, aside from the one he had first in New York City before the tower, and then the second one he had on the outskirts of Chicago, in Illinois.

And the United States? Which would mean that this letter had come from a different country. But looking over the envelope, there were none of the tell tale stamps that letter that had travelled that far usually had.

And the weird wax stamp on the back. That was just something he never saw done unless it was some cheesy Middle Ages/Dark Ages movie. But it was there all the same-a quarter sized stamp of dark red wax, with what looked like an M stamped onto it. It was stretched out now, as Pepper had pulled on it when opening the letter.

There wasn't a return address.

Frowning, Tony laid the envelope onto the counter.

"Jarvis, when did that letter show up?"

"The letter Miss Potts was holding, was delivered this morning at approximately 4:00."

Tony whirled around and looked up at his ceiling. Sometimes he wished Jarvis had a face.

"Your shitting me. Mail doesn't come that early."

Jarvis continued. "It wasn't delivered by the usual standard."

If it were possible, it sounded as though Jarvis were hesitating.

"How was it delivered?" he demanded.

"I am not quite sure how it got in, but I do believe it was a horned owl."

If it were possible, Tony's eyebrows shot up higher.

"Ohkaaay...when did Pepper read it?"

"A little after 4:30. Surprisingly, the owl stayed perched on the side of the couch until Miss Potts made an appearance. After reading the letter, which appeared to be rather distressing news, she took several minutes and appeared to-cry. Then she got a notepad out, wrote out a short letter, sealed it, and gave it _back_ to the owl. It flew out the sliding patio doors after Miss Potts opened them."

By now, Tony was sitting on the bar stool that Pepper had vacated.

"Well damn."

Fred didn't know how long he sat outside. The sun had begun to dip on the horizon though, and even in the middle of May, a slight chill had settled in. Fred was well aware that he was going to be wore later, with the way he had curled up.

He heard footsteps approaching, and pointedly looked the opposite way. He didn't want company. He didn't know what to say if he did-no matter who it was.

A moment later, a presence settled on the ground beside him, and smelling the Saint Laurent Perfume that he knew Bill had gotten for Fleur for Christmas, he turned slightly and saw the blond woman curling her own legs up.

"Sent you out here to check on me?"

His voice sounded hoarse, and he quickly cleared it, turning away again.

"No, I wanted to come out. Your parents told the rest of the family, seeing as you woke everyone else up being so loud. Needless to say, no one knew what to say for quite a while. Bill actually yelled at your parents too. Hermione cried-Ron looked like he was about to blow up. Harry of course didn't say anything, but I think he was holding Ginny's hand to keep her from doing something like slap your mother. Percy and Charlie have been having some very quiet whispered discussion between themselves for a while now. They both wanted to speak to your father privately."

Fred mulled over that for a moment, and then said, "They're not my parents."

Flyer let out a small sigh.

"I know you feel that way right now. You're still grieving-we all are. And this news would be upsetting to anyone under any normal circumstances. These circumstances are _far_ from normal."

Fred looked at his sister-in-law out of the corner of his eye, and saw her watching the sunset.

Damn. He'd been out here all day.

Turning his own gaze that direction, he hedged, "I left after the initial news and...blowup. Did they say anything else?"

Fleur hesitated.

"I know you want me to talk to them, but I'll just do it all over again.

She sighed again.

Pushing a hair out of her face, she started.

"Apparently, despite the fact that twins run in the family, your mother-Molly-was never pregnant with twins. There was a meeting, for the original Oder Of the Phoenix, and even though she was six and a half months along, she insisted on attending. The meeting was small, and not in the most secure location. There was an ambush, and Molly was hit with a curse. It caused some internal bleeding, and once Arthur was able to get her safely away, she went into labor. He got her to St. Mungos, and they performed emergency surgery. Karlene Sharla Weasley lived for four hours. The healers couldn't do anything for her. The curse that had affected your mother also affected the baby, and they already had too much to do trying to keep her systems working as she was so underdeveloped. Your parents were devastated."

Fred swallowed, blinking back fresh tears.

There would have been another girl. Ginny would have had an older sister.

"And my mother? George's and my mum? My dad?"

Fleur continued.

Tony stared at Pepper as she delved into her story.

"I know you won't believe half of what I say, but I need you to hold off your questions until I'm finished. I don't think I can finish otherwise."

Her voice broke, and he was the tears well in her eyes. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand in his own.

"As much as I hate keeping my mouth shut, I, Tony Stark, shall keep my mouth shut until you finish your story."

Pepper smiled, if only a small, brief smile.

"I was born into a unique family. My mother-my mother is known as a squib. Well, um...first off, you need to realize that-magicisreal."

Tony stared at her. He opened his mouth, but she put her finger to his lips.

"Don't. I just-magic, like, witches, and wizards, and all of that-its real. My mother-my mom was born into a very old, wizarding family. They prided themselves on blood purity-not having any non-magical members of their family. When my mom wasn't able to perform magic like the rest of her family, she was hidden away. Her family was ashamed of her, and once she turned 17-an adult in the wizardarding world-they kicked her out with enough money to start a life for herself. She came over to the states, and met my dad and they fell in love. Then I came along.

"My mother wanted me to know about my heritage, even though my heritage wouldn't necessarily want me. She got in touch with her sister, who had secretly been in contact with her against the family's wishes, and I started to write my cousin, a witch. It was just minimal contact, but I enjoyed hearing about the magical school Sarah got to attend, and the shops she got to go to, and the parties and activities that I could never dream about.

"It was here, in America, that I accidentally met a wizard. His name was Colin. I worked as a barista for a while, and he was one of my regulars. He was a few years older than me, but I took a shine to him. We started seeing each other when I wasn't working, and one day, I spotted his wand. He was surprised that I knew what it was, and it opened up a whole other world for me. He took me shopping in magical stores, we had butterbeer and pumpkin juice. I got to watch professional Quidditch matches. All things that I had heard about from my cousin, but never had a chance to see.

"We were foolish. I was foolish. I was love struck, and made some bad decisions. I, uh, got together with him. Intimately. And then I discovered I was pregnant."

If Tony wasn't already skeptical about the whole magic thing and wondering if Pepper's sanity was intact, he was utterly gobsmacked at the thought of _Pepper_ in a young relationship in which she got knocked up.

He opened his mouth to speak, and snapped it shut again remembering his promise. Pepper wasn't even paying attention to him anymore. She was completely immersed in her memories.

"I never told my parents," she whispered. "I was scared. I told Colin, and he dropped me like a hot potato. I fount out a few years later that he was part of a more prestigious wizarding family-not necessarily like the purebloods but close-and was engaged to be married already. They got married, and last I looked into it they had a boy and a girl. I never spoke to him again.

"A month into the pregnancy, I wrote to my cousin and told her. A month later, I was heading over to London to spend some time with her since we had never officially met. I arrived at the end of December-I was homeschooled so education wasn't an issue, and due to a war going on with the magical community, their school had shut down. But my cousin's family was deemed safe to visit, so I did, after much pestering of my own parents. Hers were skeptical, and it was kept very discreet due to the nature of the rest of my mother's family.

"We prolonged the visit, seeing as the war progressed over there, we used the excuse that travel was dangerous. Through no fault of my own though, I went into premature labor. And I had twins."

Tony was well and truly gaping now, but the look on Pepper's face was full of heartbreak and love and longing, and he didn't dare even breath.

Pepper gave a small chuckle, even as a few tears ran down her face.

"They were so handsome. Both of them, nearly identical save for a few more freckles on one's nose. They both had red hair, just like me."

And I gave them up. There was another couple there, who's child had died due to their own premature labor and other complications. I'll have to admit, I wasn't very discreet when I approached them, and I hurt their feelings greatly evening mentioning my own children to them at the time of their own grieving. But the next day, the father-Arthur-found me and we spoke. I told him about my background, my being too young, and the boy's exhibiting signs of magic already. They were separated-put into two separate cribs-and nearly gave the medi-witch a heart attack when one of them...magicked himself into the crib of the other.

After a lot of discussion, we made the adoption official, and the boys because Fredrick Gideon Weasley, and George Fabian Weasley. Surprisingly, the woman-Molly-had had twin brothers by the middle names who died shortly thereafter in the war that was going on.

"I kept minimal contact with them. But Arthur especially wanted me to know what was happening in their lives. I never met them after that, and I asked that they not know about me. But I do have this."

She reached out and handed him a photo of two identical boys, both of them holding what looked like old brooms, standing next to two trunks, grinning widely at the camera. They appeared to be ten or eleven years old. What really shocked him though, was that the picture _moved_. One boy reached around and poked the other in the side, causing him to wiggle away and laugh, an then both of them standing at attention as someone off camera scolded them. But the mischievous smiles never left their faces.

Pepper sniffed again. "That ones Fred," she pointed. "He has more freckles. That one-that's George."

"Um-"

Pepper stopped him. "I'm not done yet."

Tony swallowed.

"They just turned 20 a little more than a month ago. And then there was another battle. The same person from the war when I was there. And-and George-"

Pepper started crying anew, and wordlessly handed him the letter.

Fred's eyes were suspiciously wet again as Fleur finished the story. The story that was both incredible and unbelievable but true. Because even Fred wouldn't be able to weave a tale like that and he doubted his family would choose now of all time to prank him with something like that. Not matter how bad Fred had pranked the others in the past.

Somewhere out there, was his real mother, Pepper Potts.

Well, shit.

Author's Note:

I realize I still need to fix stuff in the prologue but I couldn't wait to update already. It took me an hour and a half to type this all up on my phone.

Sore thumbs.

I am aware that Pepper's real name is Virginia, but remembering how specific letters are in HP, I went with Pepper since that's what she prefers.

Next chapter, Tony has questions, Fred had questions, and the plot will hopefully actually start. ^_^

Please review!


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